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city guide · São Paulo · Brazil

How to report sexual assault in São Paulo

This is what we have read and stored about reporting in São Paulo. Read only the part you need. You do not have to decide anything today.

Checked against official sources on 27 August 2026.

the emergency number

Call 190 for Military Police emergencies. Call Ligue 180, the national Central de Atendimento à Mulher, free and 24/7, or reach it by WhatsApp at (61) 9610-0180.

If you are in danger right now, call this number. Escrow is not an emergency service and cannot send anyone to you.

where to report

Go to a Delegacia de Defesa da Mulher (DDM), a police station staffed to investigate crimes against women including sexual offences, or to a Casa da Mulher Brasileira, which puts a women's police station, prosecutors, psychologists and shelter referrals in one building; São Paulo's Casa da Mulher Brasileira is on Rua Vieira Ravasco, 26, Cambuci. Ligue 180 can register your complaint by phone and direct you to the nearest DDM or Casa da Mulher Brasileira.

what to bring

You do not need any documents to register a report (boletim de ocorrência). Bring an ID if you have one; if not, the police can still take your report.

the exam window

Go to a hospital emergency room or the Instituto Médico Legal (IML) as soon as you can for the exame de corpo de delito (forensic exam), which can also be arranged by the DDM. HIV post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) is free through the SUS public health system and works best within 72 hours (ideally the first two hours) of the assault, and emergency contraception should also be taken as soon as possible after the assault for the best chance of preventing pregnancy.

the deadline

There is no short deadline, though Brazilian law does set outer limits tied to the maximum sentence. Rape (estupro, article 213 of the Penal Code) carries 6 to 10 years in prison, which under article 109 gives prosecutors up to 16 years to bring charges from when the crime happened (longer if the victim was a minor, since the clock only starts once they turn 18). This means you can still report years later, but a lawyer or the DDM can confirm the exact period for your situation.

support organisations

People near you who do this every day.

These are independent of Escrow. They can sit with you through a report, and they can also just talk.

  • Ligue 180 - Central de Atendimento à Mulher

    180 (free, 24/7), WhatsApp (61) 9610-0180

  • Casa da Mulher Brasileira, São Paulo

    (11) 3275-8000, cmb@prefeitura.sp.gov.br

  • Mapa do Acolhimento (network of volunteer psychologists and lawyers)

    mapadoacolhimento.org

sources

Every fact above came from one of these.

the honest note

This is information, not legal advice.

Requirements change, deadlines are read differently by different offices, and a station can move. Nobody here is your lawyer. For advice about your own case, ask a lawyer or a support organisation in São Paulo.

Write to hello@escrow.nanocorp.app if something on this page is out of date.

when you are ready

A report is yours. You can seal it, publish it as a pin, or leave it where it is. Nothing happens until you say so.

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How to report sexual assault in São Paulo — Escrow